


Retrograde

by Clockworkpulse



Category: White Collar
Genre: Alternate Universe, Androids, Canon-Typical Violence, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Mild Sexual Content, Robot/Human Relationships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-26
Updated: 2017-04-26
Packaged: 2018-10-24 03:40:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10733391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Clockworkpulse/pseuds/Clockworkpulse
Summary: It was only a matter of time before Peter finally gave in and got his own android. Who knew things would go like this?





	Retrograde

Peter needed a new android. That was, perhaps, not the proper phrase to use, he’d never had an android before so there was nothing to replace. Rather, he was going to buy his first ever android.

News traveled fast in the Bureau. Always had and so, without fail, when Peter brought up the idea of possibly purchasing one, within an hour he had about a dozen people from all different divisions telling him where the best place to get one was.

He supposed it was a good thing that it had happened because he wasn’t exactly the most tech savvy individual. Oh, he knew how to use a computer and operate a smart phone but androids, they were a whole other thing and truthfully, he didn’t know that much about how they worked.

From what he could understand, they basically took care of themselves so his major concern was just turning it on and naming it. Simple enough.

There was, of course, also the issue of cost. Peter knew they’d be pricey and on an FBI Agent’s salary, it wasn’t exactly all that easy to have the funds for buying one. Luckily he’d slowly been putting some money off to the side the last few years (for a vacation he would never go on) and had about five thousand to spare on an android.

Honestly, Peter had never before had any intention of ever purchasing one. He just didn’t feel the need to. He’d been hearing good things about them ever since they first came out about twenty years ago when he was still a fresh faced agent with the Bureau but they’d never sparked his interest.

But then Elizabeth got one about a year back to help with her business and a few popped up in the workplace. Reese said getting one might be a good idea when Peter started pulling in later hours and Elizabeth agreed when he’d told her what Reese said. After that, he gave it careful thought and that’s how he found himself heading to a little store in SoHo.

He wouldn’t look strange getting an android, really.

They were everywhere nowadays and they looked and acted so human that it was nearly impossible to tell them apart from real people. The one giveaway–and even then there were times you couldn’t see it due to hair or clothing–was a pretty obvious square area in the back of their neck that could be opened. It’s where their wires were so they could plug in and recharge.

Some people had them just to be companions or lovers while others had them to help out with work, whether it be house work or a job. Androids were incredibly useful and didn’t get tired like people. It’s pretty obvious why they’re so popular and now Peter was going to join that crowd.

He could see the store and was a little surprised by just how small the place looked. He’d heard it was little but as he approached and peered into the windows, it didn’t look much bigger than three of the conference rooms at the Bureau put together, both in length and in width.

With a deep breath, Peter entered the store, a tiny bell ringing just above his head as he pulled open one of the glass doors.

There didn’t appear to be anybody in the front of the store, giving Peter a chance to look around the showroom without anybody trailing behind him and talking his ear off. At least for now.

All the androids were kept in a single line, seated so nice and proper with their eyes closed. Shut down mode. It looked so much like they were sleeping, like they were human but Peter knew better.

While he perused the many androids, he took the occasional glance around the shop. There were plenty of replacement cables and hardware chips and even different _eyes_ for sale.

It wasn’t until he was nearly at the end of the shop that he spotted something very interesting.

On a pile on boxes about five feet from the door that led to the backroom, a man ( _android_ , Peter corrected himself) was slumped to the side. He too was in shut down mode.

Strange that he wasn’t with the others, was he defective?

Even with the prospect that he might be, Peter still approached and knelt down in front of him. The android was wearing a suit, not an expensive one but not one that was incredibly cheap either. Really it looked like something that someone had hastily put on him without much thought. Carefully, Peter brushed the android’s hair out of his face.

He was gorgeous. Peter had seen plenty of beautiful androids before, but this one was something else with his strong jawline, high cheekbones, and lips that curved into a slight cupid’s bow. Peter wasn’t entirely sure why but he felt oddly drawn to the android.

Well, he _had_ been told that one might click with him over others.

“You don’t want that one,” a voice said behind him. Peter turned to see whom he suspected was the store owner standing close by. Peter hadn’t even heard the man approach.

“Why’s that, is there something wrong with him?”

“Don’t know,” the man said with a shrug. “His previous owner just brought him in and told me to incinerate him. People tell me to dispose of an android and I don’t ask questions.” Probably one of the reasons why the shop was so popular. “But do you really want to take a chance with him?”

Peter wasn’t sure and that uncertainty must have shown on his face because the owner chuckled softly and gestured for Peter to follow him.

“Let’s go look at the models I have on display.”

And so they did for a good half hour, the owner telling Peter what components each one had and their pricing but the whole time it was all being explained to him–besides quite a good chunk of it totally going over his head because of complicated technobabble–he kept stealing momentary glances at the lone, slumping android.

Once the ‘tour’ was over, Peter considered the models in front of him for a few minutes. They sounded good, and most were within his price range too but he just didn’t feel a pull towards any of them, unlike…

Peter turned and walked back over to the android on the boxes, once again kneeling down and once again brushing his hair out of his face.

“How much is he?”

“You really sure about that one?”

“I am.” Peter heard the owner let out a sigh that he suspected he wasn’t supposed to hear but the the man just hadn’t been quiet enough. He brushed it off, it’s not like the owner was using his own money to buy the android.

“Three thousand.”

“That’s nearly the price of a new one,” Peter said as he looked back at the man.

“Yeah, well, he might be old but he’s special.”

Peter only shook his head and stood, not bothering to ask what the owner meant by that. He figured it was some Limited Edition bullshit.

Getting out the three thousand, Peter handed it off to the man.

“Great, let me get you a start up manual and you can take him home.”

* * *

An hour later, Peter pulled up in front of his house. The android was in the front passenger seat and Peter couldn’t help but once again think how much it simply looked like a regular person, sleeping away.

Peter went around to the other side of the car to get the android out and while still heavy, he was at the same time surprisingly light.

_Weight displacement_ , the owner had called it. It was something all the androids had to make them light enough to carry but they could turn it off, thereby making themselves harder to steal by fully employing their five to seven hundreds pounds of weight thanks to their metal skeleton underneath. The theft of androids wasn’t a particularly large problem but it was better to be safe than sorry in those cases where they are taken.

With that terminology filed away into a neat and growing mental drawer titled ‘Androids’ in Peter’s mind, he closed the car door and carried the android inside where he gently settled him down into a seated position on the couch.

The start up manual–which was more a hastily written manual with more diagrams than anything that the owner had whipped up for Peter–was placed on the coffee table beside him as he perched atop it.

“I guess I should decide on a name for you first.” _Probably should have been thinking of one in the car_.

While it was true that the android was previously owned and most likely had a name already, Peter wanted to change it, to give him a name he chose. The thought felt odd to him, almost like naming an adult human that had a life before you met them but apparently it was a common practice with used androids so Peter would just have to suck it up, he supposed.

“Hmm, you look like someone that would have a sophisticated sounding name but also maybe something a little more loose.”

_Richard._

_John._

_James._

_William._

_Victor._

None of these worked for Peter as he mulled them over in his mind. He wasn’t sure why thinking of a name for the android was so difficult but here he was, going over at least ten other names as he paced his living room.

“Nick!” he exclaimed, turning to look at the android on his couch as if seeking approval for the name. One glance at him and Peter frowned. “No, not Nick. It could work but it doesn’t feel like _you_.” Strange thing to say when he didn’t know what personality the other was programmed with yet but based off looks, Nick wasn’t going to work with Peter in the long run.

And so it was back to pacing.

_Chris._

_Steve._

_Frank._

“Neal! I’ll call you Neal…with an A.” That felt good. That felt right and the A gave it an extra sort of flare, made a simple kind of name look more fancy, in a way. “Okay, now to turn you on.”

Snatching up the manual, Peter read. 

There was an area behind the right ear, a small button that you’d have to apply an ample amount of pressure to feel for and push. Not the typical way to turn on an android but now that Peter thought about it, he hadn’t seen that square area in the back of the android’s neck either. It could be it was smaller and just not as easy to spot or perhaps he should have asked the owner what he meant when he said ‘special.’

That could be taken care of later though, right now he wanted to accomplish the task at hand.

It wasn’t easy finding that area, taking Peter a solid three minutes to do so but when he found it, he pressed it and sat back, awaiting the android to wake up.

Some moments went by before, at last, the android’s eyes blinked open. Peter was surprised to see how blue and life like they were. Every android had realistic looking eyes but these were on a whole other level.

“Hey there,” Peter greeted. “I’m Peter Burke, I’m your new owner. You can just call me Peter though.”

“Hello Peter,” the android replied, giving him a smile. “I’m NGC-03211977. Would you like to give me a proper name?”

That’s not what Peter had been expecting at all. A serial number for the name?

_Maybe he was returned to Factory Settings before being handed over_. It made sense for why he wasn’t giving him an old name and why, while he was using a pleasant tone, it didn’t give away much personality. _Start up business_.

“I would, yes,” Peter said.

“What name have you chosen?”

“Neal…with an A.”

“Done. May I have your Wi-Fi password as well?”

“Yeah, it’s Satchmo09.”

“Thank you, Peter,” Neal said. “Setup is now complete.”

The android’s stance seemed to change then, as if coming out of some spell. His posture became more relaxed but his expression was a little lost. 

He didn’t say anything though, didn’t ask any questions, just sat there, looking at Peter who was looking at him and they just stared at each other until Peter cleared his throat and glanced at his watch.

“Crap, it’s that late already?” He didn’t know where the time went. He’d have to eat something quick and hit the hay if he was going to get up early tomorrow to get in the van. While he would have liked to have more time to speak with the other and go over some things, it would have to be delayed until tomorrow. “Uh,” he glanced at Neal. “I don’t have any clothes for you right now so you’ll just have to wear mine for tonight but once I get home tomorrow we can go shopping and pick some things up. Come on.”

Peter helped get some sleep clothes for Neal and sent him into one of the guest rooms that he figured would be Neal’s from there on out. While the android took care of changing, Peter went downstairs to have a quick bite to eat. He just finished putting his plate away when Neal came downstairs.

It was just a plain white shirt and boxers and they fit pretty well. Neal had a more slight physique than Peter but he wasn’t tiny so he certainly wasn’t anywhere near drowning in the shirt.

“All good?”

“Yes,” Neal replied.

“Good. Look, I’m sorry I can’t sort everything out tonight but we’ll have more time tomorrow. I just need you to not leave the house until I get back from work, okay? If you need to contact me, use the landline. I’ll write the number down where you can reach me.”

“I understand and I’ll stay inside.”

“Thank you. You can read or watch TV if you want while I’m gone. This is your home now.”

Neal nodded in understanding and Peter couldn’t help the line his mouth formed. He wasn’t getting a clear read on the android. No real personality he could pick up on. He had no idea if this was normal but he’d feel it out for awhile before asking somebody. Maybe he was just being a little paranoid because of what the store owner said.

“Okay, well…I have to sleep and so should you, or recharge or whatever you androids do when it’s time for light’s out.”

“Alright. Am I going to stay on the couch?”

“What? No. No. That guest room you went into to change, that’ll be your room.”

Neal nodded again. “Okay. Goodnight, Peter.”

“Goodnight, Neal."

**Author's Note:**

> My brain wouldn't let me work on anything else till I got this out. I'll be updating my other stories as soon as possible now that this is out. I fell out of fic writing for awhile when things got hectic but now I'm slowly trying to get back into the swing of things. So, a few notes...
> 
> Neal's serial number represents two things:  
> NGC = Neal's full name, Neal George Caffrey  
> 03211977 = Neal's birth date, March 21st, 1977
> 
> Peter's Wi-Fi password:  
> Satchmo = Obviously the dog  
> 09 = 2009, the year season 1 of White Collar aired
> 
> Many of the names Peter was considering come from Neal's many aliases in the show.  
> James Maine, William Grey, Victor Moreau, Chris Gates, Steve Tabernackle, and Frank Wellington Jr.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter of this new story. Neal's lack of his canon personality will be explained in a later chapter and is actually a plot point.


End file.
